A curious cameo for a man from New Orleans

Friday

Dec 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 26, 2008 at 12:17 AM

After gifts have been unwrapped and stomachs have been stuffed, it's not uncommon for families to flock to the movies on Christmas Day. But the Andersons of Cuba made the ambitious hourlong drive to Peoria not because they ran out of egg nog and conversation, but because family member Brian Anderson scored a small role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which was filmed in his now-hometown of New Orleans.

Erin Wood

After gifts have been unwrapped and stomachs have been stuffed, it's not uncommon for families to flock to the movies on Christmas Day.

But the Andersons of Cuba made the ambitious hourlong drive to Peoria not because they ran out of egg nog and conversation, but because family member Brian Anderson scored a small role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which was filmed in his now-hometown of New Orleans.

"I'm hoping in two hours and 40 minutes, I'll be in it somewhere," Anderson said with a laugh as he and about a dozen family members walked into the theater at Rave Motion Pictures Grand Prairie 18 for the first showing of the movie on Thursday afternoon.

Anderson, 42, a self-proclaimed movie buff, said he sometimes has a month or two off at a time from his job at State Farm Insurance. Such was the case in early 2007, when he saw an ad in his local newspaper calling for male extras.

After sending a photograph and a basic description of himself to the movie's search team, Anderson landed the job almost immediately and spent the next three weeks on the set, playing everything from a postman to a nursing home resident.

"I felt like a star," he said, noting that assistant directors would address the extras before each scene, explaining the setting and their roles. "There was such a positive energy, and everybody wanted to be there."

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" follows the life of a man who is born with the appearance and physical limitations of a man in his 80s. Abandoned in a nursing home by his father, Benjamin (Brad Pitt) begins aging backward.

While in the home, he meets Daisy (Cate Blanchett). The two fall in love but struggle to deal with the issue of one growing younger while the other grows older.

Though he got paid only about $75 a day and appeared in just a handful of scenes, Anderson said he didn't do it for the money but for the experience. And being able to make it home to central Illinois to share the final product with his family on Christmas was a big part of the reward.

"Even if I hadn't seen myself in any of it, it's my memory that counts and sharing it with my family made it special for us," he said.

Anderson's family doesn't normally spend Christmas at the movies. It's difficult enough to meet in the same city for the holidays, he said, so coordinating a field trip to Peoria was especially challenging.

"To get everybody there was the really exciting part," Anderson said.

His mother, Patricia, was excited to see her son on the big screen, even if only briefly.

"It was just a few seconds, but we knew that going into it," she said. "I'm proud of him, and it was nice to be together."

Erin Wood can be reached at (309) 686-3194 or ewood@pjstar.com.

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